Budget cuts should not be passed on to the most vulnerable
The Senate's budget cuts include measures that could also lead to savings in children's and youth services. Our democratic education work for Berlin's future should not be sacrificed to austerity measures
Text and screenshot taken
from the press release of the Berlin State Youth Council:
“July 7, 2023, Berlin, July 7, 2023. The threatened cuts to public budgets by the Senate are an attack on social Berlin. Savings must not be borne at the expense of social projects, as they ensure social cohesion. This is the demand of an alliance of social service providers in Berlin, of which the Berlin State Youth Council is a member.”
"Only a skeleton of Berlin's social fabric will remain if public budgets are drastically cut," the alliance fears in a joint statement. The social infrastructure must be preserved. Savings would primarily affect social projects, as cuts to mandatory state services are not possible. Therefore, the alliance demands that the Berlin Senate abandon budget cuts. Members of the alliance include the Berlin State Youth Council, the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) Berlin-Brandenburg, the Berlin Tenants' Association, the Workers' Welfare Association Berlin, and the Diaconal Service Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia.
Youth work would be massively affected by cuts in the social sector. Whether it's youth associations, youth clubs, street outreach programs, or youth education centers: they all need increased funding, not radical cuts. Such facilities are indispensable for social cohesion among young people. Budget cuts must not be passed on to the most vulnerable if Berlin doesn't want to cripple itself through austerity measures. Otherwise, youth work facilities would have to reduce staff in many places. There's even the threat of closures of youth recreation centers and fewer holiday trips organized by youth associations if rising costs due to inflation aren't offset.
Note to editors:
Link: Joint statement of the alliance
ljrberlin.de/statement-buendnis-sozialer-zusammenhalt